It made almost as much news as the State of the Union itself, but Barack Obama called his supposed snub of Hillary Clinton merely an accident.

Just another case of turning a small incident into a big, hairy deal, the media went nuts with this story and picture of Obama turning his back on Clinton who was reaching out to shake Senator Kennedy’s hand. Oh my gosh, did Obama turn from the lovable, hope-filled candidate to a meanie? Guess not.

“I waved at her as I was coming into the Senate chamber before we walked over,” he said. “I think there is a lot of tea-leaf reading going on here.”

Moral of the story: Don’t get caught unaware. Ever. Or people will think you’re a jerk.